The Three Professors Visit No 4 Privet Drive
by Priya Ashok
Summary: Please read and review. Thank you. :)
The wonderful world of Harry Potter belongs to JKR.

This is ONE SHOT follow up to the Three Professors.

 _ **The Three Professors Visit No 4 Privet Drive**_

The three professors, Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape and Minerva McGonagall appeared out of thin air at the entrance to No 4, Privet Drive, Surrey, England. They paused for a second, their previous good humour vanishing simultaneously at the task ahead of them. They were there on a self-appointed task of tackling the Dursleys on their treatment of their nephew Harry Potter. Harry had mentioned that a Cupboard beneath the stairs had been his home and given them enough details. A home where he had been starved often, locked at whim and wearing Dudley's hand me downs.

While Dumbledore would never punish anyone for a lack of love; he knew all too well that love was an emotion that had to be instinctive instead of forced, kindness and basic decency he expected from any care giver towards a child. The Dursleys had behaved in an inhumanly way toward a child who had lost its parents and was solely depending upon its care givers for basic things like food, shelter and clothes. Things which the Dursleys had not bothered with Harry.

Of course he was to blame too. He trusted Arabella Figg; he would be having words with her too. He had never bothered to come and check up on Harry. He thought Figg would be enough. McGonagall and Snape stood silently each of their thoughts angry and just a little shameful for the neglect they had added to Harry. Minerva more than Snape. For all his faults, Snape had not been there that fateful day, McGonagall thought with self-loathing. She had; and after observing the type of people these wretched Dursleys were, she had not only agreed with Dumbledore about Harry's placement, she had also forgotten about the boy until she saw him small and under fed on the day of Sorting.

Even then, she thought as she shifted restlessly as she waited for Dumbledore to ring the bell, she had done nothing. She had no reason, no justification. She had only shame.

Dumbledore rang the bell, holding his finger just a tad longer than usual and then he stepped back a bit and waited. It was about ten am. It was Friday and Dumbledore wondered if Vernon Dursley was there of if he'd left for his office.

A couple of minutes later the door opened and a tall, thin woman with blonde hair peeped out. "I don't want anyth…." Her voice faded away as she tried to shut the door with a squeak.

"Not so fast my dear Tuney." Snape's voice rang out, loud and clear. "Do you want everyone one to know why we're here darling?" he said, his tones still strident.

Petunia Dursley could just see a few curtains twitching. She shuddered and opened the door. "Come on in then."

They walked into a boring house, with boring furniture and boring photos arranged in a boring way, Snape thought nastily. He flicked his wand not minding the shriek from Petunia and conjured an elegant chair for himself. Realising it was every man for himself, McGonagall did the same. Dumbledore, naturally had to be different. He flicked his wand and dragged Vernon Dursley's favourite sofa and sat down in it. He knew that Petunia would burn it now, but did he care? Not a bit.

Petunia's eyes were wide and she stifled scream after scream.

"You can scream all you want to my dear!" Dumbledore told her kindly. "I have raised privacy charms on the house."

Petunia looked as if she did not know what to do. She braced herself and snarled at the three. McGonagall had yet to speak, Snape noticed.

"What do you want?" she asked her voice low and harsh. "The fre … I mean the boy is no longer here."

"Oh we know darling." Snape drawled. "We know the freak's not here. He is with other freaks."

Petunia did not know how to answer that, and seeing Snape's expression, she did not quite dare.

"We left him with you, you bloody harpy, we left him with his mother's sister, who we thought would care for Harry as she would have for her own son. I know had positions been reversed, your son would not have suffered the way Harry did with you. How dare you ill treat him? Did you think you'll have no accountability of your actions that no one noticed? _Freak!_ " McGonagall shouted, her faced pinched with fury.

Petunia's eyes flashed with loathing. "I never asked for the boy."

"And he would have never come here if his parents were alive." McGonagall cut in. "Which part of his parents were murdered did you not get?" she shouted outraged at the way Petunia was behaving.

"You come here, you leave a small boy on my door step no less,"

"WHAT?" Snape asked unable to believe his ears.

"You didn't know?" Petunia sneered, her face showing her opinion of the three people in the room with her. "The boy was brought here sometime in the _night_ and without a bloody word to me about my sister's death; which by the way I had to learn after reading a letter of all things _the next morning_ , and I find I'm dumped a baby upon me, my sister and her husband are murdered and their murderer might not be dead and will come after the boy. What if he had run away or died of cold, I don't know."

"He would not have." McGonagall shouted, missing the point that had startled Snape. "He had been charmed to sleep, and no one except you could have picked him up."

"So," Petunia shouted in outrage. "I'm not to be scared? I'm not to ask more questions about my role and about the kind of protections are placed here? I'm not" she screamed, "to be reassured my family will be safe if this boy is placed here. I'm not asked if I can afford to feed and clothe the boy."

"And letting me know about Lily's death through a letter, when you want me to become the boys only caregiver?" Petunia snarled. "Is that how you do things in your freakish world? Where might trumps every time over right? You" she shrieked, "really thought you were doing the right thing? And doing all this you come here to ask me questions. _GET OUT. GET. OUT. NOW_." Petunia yelled and fell silent, taking huge breaths as she brought her shaking body into some sort of equilibrium.

McGonagall floundered and then went silent, not knowing what to say to this.

Meanwhile Petunia was on a roll. "Which insane ass tells a family they have to take care of a baby, by leaving the baby on a doorstep in November and leaving a letter to inform the family that another of its members has been brutally murdered by a Dark Lord? I am glad I never had magic. I was jealous for the longest time that Lily was looked at as someone special, because she had magic and I was left alone and worthless because I was normal. But what did magic give Lily? Him?" she shrieked, gesturing furiously at Snape, who was stunned at what he was hearing.

Lily's baby left on a doorstep?! Her death informed to next of kin through a letter along with baby?! What was happening? Meanwhile Petunia was still shouting enraged at all of them, years of fury, jealousy and hate pouring out of her.

"All magic gave her was an attitude she was better than everyone else and I'll bet that she lost touch with reality; and by reality I mean the normal unfreakish world to which I belong, which probably led to her death. Freak that she was."

"How dare you …" McGonagall started furiously to be interrupted by Snape.

"She is right Minerva." Snape broke in quietly. McGonagall turned a horrified face towards him, furious, but Snape continued quietly.

"Which idiot chooses a secret keeper to show the world his," Snape hesitated and then spoke, visibly hurt, " _their_ friends are true and loyal to them, without checking may I add, at a time when the Dark Lord was out for their blood and life and when they knew one of them could be a traitor, when the only wizard the Dark Lord feared volunteered to be their secret keeper? Tell me Minerva?"

McGonagall's mouth opened and closed like a fish. "What?" she asked stupidly, unable to process what Snape was saying.

"Merlin knows I hate Tuney and I came here to chew her out," he turned a forbidding look towards Petunia, who looked at him defiantly, uncaring and unrepentant of her actions, "and she was despicable; but that doesn't take away what we did. We were freaks." He turned in sudden fury to Dumbledore.

"What was wrong with you? Are you so arrogant? You decide Harry's life, his life which may I add you were going to sacrifice for the sake of the Wizarding World, like this? You don't have the courtesy of ringing the doorbell, explaining to Petunia and her husband that they have an additional child to take care of? What the hell were you think you _nut_? Old age _has_ screwed you up." He finished scathingly.

Dumbledore did not answer. He sat his head bowed down, a picture of misery, with tears leaking down his eyes. McGonagall looked stunned as she considered this, more shamed than she had been earlier.

"And you!" Snape snarled turning to Petunia.

"What?" she retorted in anger. "Did you ever think that we might be scared that those who targeted Lily might have been on the lookout for her child, especially, since," she sneered at Dumbledore, "the Head freak," she was really delighting in the use of that word now, Snape thought in a detached manner, his mind still horror stuck on the left on the door step act. "Here kindly told me that the Dark Lord was currently disposed of, but would return. And then, a mild threat – better take care of him or else. Considering that I think we did a good job." She said smug now that she had rattled the wizards who had come to attack her and her parenting skills.

"So." Snape had recovered now. He decided he would deal with Minerva, Albus and that bloody oaf Hagrid later on. In private. Now he had to deal with this loathsome woman, who actually thought her actions were kind, benign and above board.

"So what Hook Nose?" she taunted. "Get out. Get out all of you. Now." She commanded, thinking this was it. She had fulfilled her long lost fantasy. That of telling the freaks what they could do with their magic and Good Lord! Did it feel good? It did. Oh yes it did.

Snape did not answer at once. If one had known him well, they would know the danger signs. He was rapidly assessing his actions, detaching his mind and preparing to move.

He moved slowly, it seemed to Petunia, until suddenly he was in front of her, invading her personal space. She unconsciously leaned back, but no longer afraid. She erroneously thought that she had the upper hand.

"You are right Tuney." Snape began almost conversationally. "We are Freaks. No one," he flashed a quick glance at the other two who were sitting there stunned and unhappy with themselves and focussed his attention on Petunia once more. "No one leaves a baby, whose parents have been murdered in the most horrible way on a doorstep with a letter for the family who is expected to take care of them, instead of meeting them, explaining to them, checking up on them ….. Believe me, even in the Wizarding World that is freakish, I agree with you. Just as," he sneered coldly, the temperature suddenly falling by an alarming degree, making Petunia shiver. "Just as," Snape repeated, "Freakish in the Normal, mundane world," Snape sneered at the words normal and mundane as if they were beneath him. "Is placing a small baby inside a cleaning cupboard."

"Which family does that Tuney darling?" Petunia was silent at this.

"Only abnormal families, dysfunctional ones." He sneered.

"WE ARE NOT ABNORMAL OR DYSFUNCTIONAL." Petunia screamed, her eyes flashing pure hatred at what this horrible man was saying. How dare he?

He dared more apparently, because he still had things to say and was relentless in his tone, words and attitude.

"Of course you are Tuney. Tell me shall I call your neighbours and ask them what they'd call a couple who places their nephew inside a cupboard, because another nut job made a mistake by leaving that small boy on a doorstep?" he asked. "Oh with only a letter. We _mustn't_ forget _that_."

Petunia was silent, only her eyes flashing her loathing.

"You have the nerve to call Harry a freak? Sure _these two_ are. They don't have a clue, or the basic decency or courtesy to ring the bloody bell and inform you about the horrible fate of your sister, never mind you were consumed with jealousy about her ability to do magic; in fact I would have thought," he said with a glare at Dumbledore and McGonagall, "the fact Dumbledore knew you might resent your sister a very valid reason for him to ring the _Bloody. Blasted. Bell_. But both of them never did.

"But you," he snarled, making her shrink into herself, "You, instead of showing some basic human kindness, go on and abuse a child in your care as much as you can. And no I don't mean the spoilt fat pig you have as a son. I mean Harry Potter."

"Dudders is not spoilt. How dare you?"

"Tuney, Tuney." Snape cut her off.

"You see, there's the magical world and there is the normal world. In both worlds there are decent human beings and then there are freaks. You, your fat husband and your piggish son are freaks in the normal world. Tuney. You have your magical counterparts in the room, right here with you." He said sweeping his hands over the two.

"But in both worlds there is another category. Did you know?" he continued, the temperature now suddenly back to normal and unnerving Petunia as she tried to shrink into herself without much success, since Snape was standing very close to her and leaning slightly towards her.

"That is the criminal category. The terrorists, the Ku Klux Klan's of the normal world and the Pureblood Mania of the Wizarding World whose outlet is in Dark Lords who try and control the Wizarding World by exterminating all those who they don't like and lady, I can tell you these miserable asses don't like anyone much. Their followers are also deprived people who hate the world and want to show it a thing or two in the mot cruel, inhuman freakish way possible." His lips twisted in a horrible parody of a terrible smile that terrified Petunia as he finished softly. "Like _me_ dear Pet. I was a follower of the murderer who murdered your sister."

Petunia whimpered with terror. She really could not help it. Her eyes darted around the room, but the other two were sitting mesmerised by what they were seeing.

"I enrolled with the same Dark Lord who killed Lily, because she was not a Pureblood. You who had no magic at all, would be made to do funny things, like being forced to assault your son or your neighbour's kid perhaps? The neighbour's cat or dog? What?" he asked in apparent surprise, still in that conversational tone, as Petunia started heaving with utter fear filling every pore of her body.

"We thought it funny darling. After all you freaks, who had no magic, were animals. And we all know animals are not human beings and can be experimented upon. Of course we did it for fun, which was wrong, I'll give you that. But we never let that little bit of morality upset us and most of the times we _obliviated_ you after, so we were kind you may say. You'd never know what you'd done to your son. Or even yourself."

Petunia was leaning away from Snape as much as she could as horrible images imprinted inside her mind, when he suddenly screamed at her, completely petrifying her. The other two watched this Snape they had seldom, if never seen before. A Snape who was showing them how he had survived being a spy, by his command over himself.

"How dare you stand there and think yourself superior? You think treating Harry so, made you alpha dog who got one over your _dead_ sister? You were so foolish that you never considered that one day Harry will reach seventeen and become an adult and then you'd have hell to pay? Or that you might have someone on his behalf, like us coming here and demanding accountability for your actions? Especially since we were freaks in the first place, we could do a lot of harm? How come you and your husband never considered all that?"

Petunia's mouth opened and closed a few times, but no sound came out of her mouth now. The enraged woman had completely vanished. It had given way to a woman who was destroyed and now looked as if she was frightened of her own shadow.

"And you think you're right simply because these two were wrong? Let me tell you a small fact honey. You couldn't be more wrong. _How. Did. You. Dare?_ " he finished with a roar that scared Petunia so much her legs gave way beneath her and she fell into a heap on the floor.

"Call your son and husband here. _Now_." He commanded.

Petunia automatically obeyed the power and threat in Snape's voice. She ran to the telephone and called Vernon at his office.

"Hello? Hello? Vernon?" her voice wobbled.

Someone had answered the line.

"Oh Vernon. Please come home at once dear. There is a crisis." Some more sounds. "No. I can't tell you over the telephone." At that time the front door bell rang. Petunia cried out a choked, painful cry that alarmed Vernon Dursley, as the line got severed. He stood up hurriedly in his office and briefly calling his superior, took permission to be away on a family crisis for the rest of the day and rushed home.

Meanwhile Snape smirked at Petunia as she looked horror stuck at the door. "Why dear Tuney? Is it your darling Duddykins?"

McGonagall and Dumbledore had pushed their emotions caused by their own actions and sat back to enjoy the ride. It was not often, a wizard like Snape let loose and it was a pleasure to watch. Dumbledore personally felt that Snape had a Mastery he now knew about. A Mastery in Intimidation and a delicate cruelty that was awe inspiring. No wonder the staff always gave him a wide berth and if they could avoid arguing with him, they always chose that route over any other. They instinctively knew not to get on Snape's bad side.

McGonagall was stunned, as she paused in the building of an altar in the temple of admirable and envious torture and sarcasm, over which she had always thought she had an edge. Now in her temple, her own altar was ruthlessly being pushed aside ruthlessly to make way for a young God. She watched intently trying to see where she might have floundered and where Snape may have an edge. Merlin; there was always someone better. That bloody saying was true.

Both of them knew that they'd have to face a slightly mad Snape later. Both were okay with it. They deserved it for one and Dumbledore wanted to see what Snape would say to punish him, a most unhealthy thought he realised, while McGonagall wanted to learn how Snape would belittle her. A most unhealthy way to learn she realised. Both leaned back for the rest of what was a pretty exhilarating ride, while feeling bad about the circumstances that brought them here. Harry's childhood.

Dumbledore realised this was one of the mysteries of Man. He could simultaneously feel bad and good, knowing that he was to blame, he could still take a thrill in events, where he knew he would also be assigned blame. Extraordinary. No wonder Muggle Philosophers spent so much time trying to make sense of the inner being Man was.

He turned his attention to what was happening inside No 4 Privet Drive, promising to himself that he would ponder about the mystery of Man later.

"Open the door." Snape commanded.

"Please Severus, please leave Dudley out of this. He only followed our lead. My lead." She amended pleading desperately.

Snape's face tightened for a second in self revulsion before he blanked his face and answered blandly, somehow sounding ominous. "You know Tuney, I watched Harry's memory of his parents' murder. Lily pleaded exactly like you did to the Dark Lord." He _really_ needed to start calling that idiot by name, Snape managed to wonder at that moment, before he turned to Petunia. "'Not Harry, anything but Harry' is what she said in the last moment s of her life." Petunia trembled at this knowledge, her eyes filling with tears as she contemplated what Snape would do to her precious Dudders.

Snape laughed harshly. "You know how the Dark Lord answered? With a Killing curse straight at her." A loud sob burst out of Petunia in spite of herself, as she covered her eyes and wailed.

"And then he turned his wand on Harry and cast another killing curse." And fell silent.

It took Petunia some seconds to understand what Snape was saying. Meanwhile the doorbell rang again, twice, impatiently.

"Yes Tuney darling," Snape was sure that if Vernon Dursley called her darling or dear, she'd kill him. "Harry survived a point blank killing curse to his forehead, where his scar was. Like a point blank gun shot to your head."

Tears streamed out of Petunia. She really did not know what she was feeling or why she was crying. Harry took killing curse from a terrible man and he had lived? But Snape was still speaking. Hazily she tried to make sense of what he said.

"… and that was why Harry was called the Boy-Who-Lived. Because he survived something that _no one_ in the history of magic did. And he survived when both his parents were brutally murdered in front of him, when his mother died begging the Dark Lord to spare her beloved baby."

Petunia looked at him with wide eyes filled with shock.

"It was at _that_ state Harry was brought to you. And what did you do my dear?" he asked before he turned and strode towards the front door.

"NO!" Petunia screamed as she ran to Snape and caught his robe trying to prevent him from opening the door. "No. Please Severus. Punish me, do anything to me. Please let him be. Please, please….please."

Snape cast a charm to see who was outside. It was Dudley Dursley. He wrenched his robe out of Petunia's hands and opened the door.

"Run Dudley. Help, please help. Dudley RUN AWAY." She screamed with all her might as Dudley looked stunned, bewildered at the door. At the last shout, he looked uncertain about what to do, when he found himself dragged inside and the next moment found himself flung at the opposite wall near the Cupboard beneath the stairs.

"Wha…" he mumbled incoherently, not knowing what was happening even as Petunia screamed and ran to her son and stood in front of him, her arms raised protectively, sobbing and begging.

"That's the right position." Snape approved and Petunia sobbed more. "Please, please, I'll do anything. Let Dudley go please. Please, please."

"Mum?"

"SHUT UP Dudley." She screamed.

Snape flicked his wand and Dudley fell unconscious. Petunia shrieked and bend down to check Dudley and seeing him unconscious, she screamed incoherently and stood up enraged. She charged at Snape. "I'll you, you b******. I'll kill you if it's the last thing I do."

Snape smiled nastily and stood there silently, before Petunia realised she was making the motions of charging towards Snape in the same place. She crumpled on the floor. "Please don't hurt Dudley. Please."

"He is only sleeping." Snape said abruptly. "And yet this is similar to how Lily pleaded for her son, her little baby." Petunia could not say a word to save her life then.

"And the Dark Lord killed her mercilessly and tuned his wand on Harry. When Harry was brought to you after that, what did you do?" Petunia was destroyed in that moment.

The doorbell rang again at that moment. Petunia looked up, and then bowed her head again. Snape flicked his wand at the door and Vernon came rushing in.

"Petunia! What happened?" he blustered and then stood shocked at what he saw. Dudders lying on the floor in a most peculiar way; three people, looking freakish and abnormal in stupid looking dresses were there; two were sitting and looked mildly interested in his entrance, while the third had that funny stick in his hand, looking at him with a devious smile on his nasty looking face.

"What's all this?" he shouted. "What?" What's all this Pet? Why is Dudders like that?"

Petunia sobbed desperately.

Snape flicked his wand and dragged Vernon Dursley inside, startling and badly shocking the man and then shut the front door with a snap.

"I'll explain Dursley. We're here to question you about the way you treated Harry Potter and to determine what your punishment will be." He said sneering at the portly man.

Vernon would have said what he thought, but he'd seen first-hand what these people could do. He had been dragged inside his own home and the front door had been shut, on its own accord. So he swallowed what he really wanted to say and said, "Now look here. Pet and I, and our Dudders are fine upstanding members of the society. You can't come here and question us about some damn little freak we never wanted …"

He stopped bewildered at his wife's moans. "Don't Vernon." She cried in a weak, hoarse voice. "Don't."

"Why not Pet. I'm only telling the truth. The blasted boy," his face turned a peculiar shade of red and puce. He turned to Snape. "See here, that boy was more trouble than he was worth. We did our best to stamp out that nonsense, but then we decided to let him go to that crackpot School. Turning teacher's hair blue and jumping to the top of the School and us honest folks having no answer …" when he stopped in his rant.

There was an uncomfortable feeling in the house. As if it was too hot. He loosened his tie, and then removed his coat, and then opened the first two buttons off his shirt. It was still too hot. And it looked as if only he was feeling it. Petunia was still crying quietly, clutching Dudley, and then his hair felt as if it was on fire. He gingerly raised his hands to his hair to see if it was actually on fire, but it was not. Then, he heard that hateful, sneering voice.

"Freaky stuff like what you're feeling now, perhaps?"

Vernon Dursley started panicking. "What are you doing to me?" he shouted, suddenly lunging at Snape only to hit a solid, transparent barrier and scream. The barrier was burning hot. He'd burned his fingers. "Ahhhhh!" he yelled.

His eyes grew fearful as Snape came striding towards him. "I, we never meant it Sir." He stammered really frightened.

"I'm sure." Snape said cruelly as he stopped a foot away from him. Vernon Dursley wanted to run, but he couldn't step away.

"You are an abnormal animal Dursley." Snape said abruptly suddenly tired. "While you are to blame, you got your sanction from the person to whose care Harry was entrusted to. Of course if you were a normal decent human being with an ounce of humanity inside you, you would have not allowed your jealous wife and stupid son to harm an innocent child. But you are not normal. You are a freak. So you got your kicks abusing a child that could not defend itself. No matter. Now Harry's strong and no one can take him for granted."

Snape twirled his wand and took out a packet from his robes. He set it down on the floor and enlarged them, to the surprise of Dumbledore and McGonagall who had not known about this. Snape had been well prepared.

He flicked his wand and opened the packet and there was a single portrait. In that was painted Lily, James and baby Harry. Petunia looked at that and sobbed more. The portrait was still. The background was Godric's Hollow.

"This is a magical portrait. This is also your first punishment. I've had Harry link this to the actual portraits of the Potters. The moment I leave this place, the portrait will get activated and I'm afraid you will be answering to them. The portrait cannot be destroyed in any manner. It can be covered, but only if the portrait wishes to. It cannot be silent, which means yes Dursley, magical portraits can and will speak. And Potter can be very obnoxious in his speech, while Lily can be … well a bit stubborn, I'd say."

He flicked his wand and the portrait was attached to the living room. "Now that was the first piece of abnormality you will face for the rest of your lives. You can't sell the house, nor can go away for holidays, without this." Saying so, he removed a smaller portrait and attached it to the upper landing, facing the bedrooms. "If you hide all day in your bedrooms, the portraits will come and get me. I will not like it if I'm disturbed especially by the obnoxious Potter, which means you will not like it when I come here. So take care to keep the Portrait happy."

Vernon Dursley's mouth was opening and closing like a fish. He looked at the large portrait and cringed. He could see his life changing right before his eyes. Argh! He wringed his fat hands, but he was too afraid to say anything.

"The second is of course community work." Vernon heaved a sigh of relief. They could do this. They could even say they were working honorary for charity. He nodded.

"You have as of this minute started your sentence. Twenty seven years. Harry would have been here with you for seventeen years, so that's the punishment, and then ten years as interest to make you understand that children are precious and ill-treating them or neglecting them is the worst crime you can do." Vernon gulped and nodded.

"Whenever anyone asks you, you will tell them the truth. That you're doing this because you abused your nephew." Vernon crumpled. His life was destroyed. "I'll send you details of where you'll work and how many hours each of you will put in every week by tonight."

He twirled his wand a few more times over each of the Dursleys and then he turned to the other two very silent wizards and nodded. He was finished.

Dumbledore stood up slowly. He had learnt a lot today. At his age he never thought Severus of all people had anything to teach him, but today he was humbled in a way he had not been in a very long time.

"This time Mr. Dursley, I'll be making periodic visits to see if you are all following the punishment properly. If I feel you're lacking," he continued sombrely, "I'll make sure to ask you why you're doing community service in front of your work people, who'll suddenly find themselves in front of you, not unlike the way young Harry found himself on top of the School."

Vernon Dursley shook with fear. He nodded quickly. He would not make mistakes.

McGonagall spoke next. She spoke quietly as if she had no place to be here. In a way she felt that, as she glanced at the portrait. She had let them and herself down badly. She heaved a deep sigh. She needed to do a lot of retrospection. When someone like Snape, a man she'd secretly looked down because of his past, had secretly always wondered about Dumbledore's trust in him, showed her how cruel and uncaring she'd been of someone she'd always thought she'd done the right thing by, she knew she had to learn. A lot. She realised it was her who had betrayed others.

Sure Snape was a Death Eater. He had once upon a time joined a wrong side openly; and he was always remembered for it and nothing much. But she, who was on the right, side, doing the right things, helping the defenceless people under attack, had got carried away by her own propaganda about her superiority over someone like Snape.

She too had let people down; she too like Snape had made wrong choices and decisions, and yet, while Snape paid publicly and continued to pay, she, Dumbledore and others slipped through the cracks because she was on the so called right side. Never again, McGonagall vowed to herself. Never again would she be so blasé about herself or others. Especially Snape.

"I'll come here too. And I'll also bring my colleagues to check up on you." She said simply and fell silent looking to Snape and nodding her head once. Snape looked surprised for a second, before his face went bland again.

He flicked his wand at Dudley, who opened his eyes. Petunia was all over him in a minute.

"This is what Harry never had since the Halloween of '81. You made sure he will never think himself worthy to have this kind of love showered on him. I, a Death Eater, Petunia, have shown you more consideration, than you as an Aunt have showed Harry. I, a criminal freak, am better than you. Think on it my dear!" he sneered.

He looked at Dumbledore and the three of them walked out of that house, shutting the front door, leaving behind a broken couple, a baffled boy and a portrait just coming to life.

 _ **End**_


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